Harley Quinn On TV: Could The Clown Queen Of Crime Return In 'Arrow' Season 5?

Suicide Squad was one of the biggest movies of the summer, bringing a band of lovable DC baddies to the masses for huge box office success. The film version of the team, which included fan favorite villains like Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and Harley Quinn, will no doubt become a definitive roster for the team, so it's pretty easy to forget that The CW almost brought us a small screen version of the team during seasons of Arrow.

Get ready for Arrow Season 5 with the trailer below:

Fans of Arrow got a taste of the team back in 2014 during Season 2, Episode 16. The episode, fittingly dubbed "Suicide Squad," found Diggle (David Ramsey) sent on a mission with the team, and featured his nemesis Deadshot (Michael Rowe) and Arrow's enemy Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) alongside others. But most interestingly, it featured a brief cameo by Harley Quinn, with actress Tara Strong from the Batman: Arkhamvideo game series providing her voice while Cassidy Alexa was her on-screen stand-in.

Harley Quinn's popularity has soared in recent years, and it's reached a peak thanks to actress Margot Robbie's stellar performance in the big screen Suicide Squad. But we don't know what happened to the character in the Arrowverse. With a new season of Arrow swiftly approaching, we're looking at the possibility of Harley Quinn's return to TV on Season 5 of Arrow.

Arrow's Suicide Squad Was A Test Run

Arrow's version of the Suicide Squad. (via The CW)

The versions of the Squad and Harley Quinn fans saw on Arrow were meant to be a test run to gauge fan interest for future projects. Warner Bros. and DC execs knew that they wanted to develop a movie around the comic book team at some point, but weren't sure if fans would actually be interested. As Arrow producer Greg Berlanti revealed earlier this month:

"They said to us a year and a half before they started developing Suicide Squad, 'Will you guys put [a version of] the Suicide Squad in your show? Because we want to have it as a film at some point.'"

Moreover, Harley Quinn wasn't meant to be a big part of the team. In the episode, she was featured as an Easter Egg teasing the potential for a future appearance. And according Arrow actress Willa Holland, there were bigger plans for Harley and the team. When asked about Arrow's Suicide Squad last year, Holland said:

"We had the Suicide Squad and these things inside of it, ARGUS. We were going really heavily into that for a minute. And then, something must have come down from DC or some higher-up above that said, ‘No, you must cease and desist because we’re going to make it into a movie and we can’t have anybody spoil that idea.’ We did get to see that little pigtail and the ARGUS uniform and the little treat of Harley Quinn, and it just got ripped away. So if we could actually have Harley Quinn on the show, that would be amazing. But it’s never going to happen."

Will DC Movies Share Characters With DC TV?

DC's big screen version of the Suicide Squad. (via Warner Bros.)

DC and WB have been pretty adamant about not allowing the same characters to be featured in both the movies and TV, especially with the Suicide Squad. Fans will recall they killed off Arrow's versions of Deadshot and Amanda Waller to make room for Will Smith and Viola Davis to bring the characters to the big screen, but we've seen a few exceptions to the rule. And of course, Arrow's Harley was ditched in favor of Margot Robbie.

Harley's Arrow role was expanded in a deleted scene. Check it out below:

Harley Quinn is such a fan favorite that it would be foolish for DC to fail to bring her to TV. While Margot Robbie’s HQ will continue to draw in the money — especially with her own spin-off in the works — bringing on a new actress as Harley on Arrow could draw even more fans to DC's successful TV universe.

Harley's TV Adventures Could Mimic The Comics

If Arrow can gain permission to use Harley Quinn, then the possibilities for her use could be endless. Her character in the comics is no longer chained at the hip of the Joker, and a TV iteration of the character would likely be the same (unless Arrow introduces the Joker).

Harley's revamped comic book appearance. (via DC Comics)

Harley's recent comic book adventures have seen her come into her own, acting as an antihero who actually tries to do some good when she's not wrapped up with the Suicide Squad or the Joker. A return to Arrow could take a similar approach, with Harley off having adventures with the other villains of The CW's DC TV universe and possibly causing some trouble for Oliver Queen and Team Arrow along the way. It's probably a good call to make Harley's TV adventures resemble the comics, considering she's helped DC Comics's sales hit a 20 year high.

Who Would Play Harley Quinn?

In her original Arrow cameo, Harley Quinn was brought to life thanks to both Cassidy Alexa and Tara Strong. Strong was the voice and Alexa was the body, and while that's less than ideal for a larger role it seems like both performers could return. According to IMDB, Alexa recently wrapped on her latest film, Asian Ghost Stories. Meanwhile, Strong continues to have a strong relationship with DC, with her voice talents being used on the shows including Teen Titans, GO!, DC Super Hero Girls and the upcoming Justice League Action. If Arrow creators wanted to keep things consistent, they could do the same thing they did before, with Strong as the voice and Alexa as the body. Alternately, one of the actresses could take over the role in full instead of splitting up the duties.

Considering Harley Quinn only appeared in a cameo, we could also see the character recast for a return to TV. This is the most likely scenario, as the mischievous antihero would be a highly coveted role perfect for a rising star.

Check out Harley Quinn's greatest hits below:

Arrow's Suicide Squad may have been killed by Warner Bros. movie, but the incredible popularity of Harley Quinn means we're bound to see the character become an even bigger player across DC's media properties. It's not unprecedented for the movies and TV shows to have alternate takes on the same characters, and considering she's already appeared on the show it would only make sense for Quinn to return for some new adventures on Arrow Season 5.

Arrow Season 5 premieres on The CW on October 5. How do you think Harley Quinn could return to the show? Tell me what you think in the comments!